Soap holder



April 1962 J. H. Ross, JR, ET AL 3,029,547

SOAP HOLDER Filed Feb. 16, 1961 INVENTOR. JouN H. Qoss J1 CA MN D.TILLH: J

A TTOPIVE Y5 United States Patent 3,029,547 SOAP HOLDER John H. Ross, Jr., and Gordon D. Stillie, Jr., Kansas City, Mo., assignors to July Corporation, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Feb. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 89,776 4. Claims. or. 45-28) This invention relates to a holder for a bar of soap or the like, and more particularly to a holder of this character wherein the holder is removably attached to a support and the attachment to the bar of soap is also readily removable from the holder for replacement of fresh bars of soap.

Various eiforts have been made towards making a holder for soap which may be supported on a wall structure or the splash back wall of a lavatory or kitchen sink, but insofar as applicants are aware, no successful holder has been devised wherein a simple construction such as applicants has been provided for this purpose.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a head portion in multiple parts for securing the holder to a support for easy replacement and removal of the head from the support and to have an arm on the head with a bifurcated end for removably holding a screw or the like for attachment to a bar of soap; to provide a suction cup for securing the holder to a support, the suction cup forming part of the head and the head having means for securing the suction cup to the head after it is secured to the support to provide a sturdy structure.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a holder having a suction cup which may be secured to a support and then the head of the holder secured thereto by means without movement of the suction cup, thus eliminating loss of air under the suction cup and the resulting usefulness of the device, and to provide a device of this character simple and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the soap holder attached to a support with the bar of soap in fragmentary.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the holder head and arm not attached to a support.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the holder head shown attached to a support.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing the screw attached to the bar of soap and the attachment of the screw to the holder.

FIG. 5 is a partly fragmentary view of the arm with the soap attaching member hanging in alignment with the transverse end thereof.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a holder embodying the features of our invention including a head 2 having a cup-shaped portion 3 providing an annular flange or rim 4 and a boss 5 extending in the opposite direction to the cup-shaped housing as illustrated in FIG. 2. The concave portion of the cup-shaped member 3 has cylindrical socket 6 for a purpose later described.

The boss '5 of the head is elongated as indicated at 7 and merges into an arm 8 extending at an angle from the boss and has its other end curved laterally as indicated at 9 and bifurcated as illustrated at 10, FIG. 1. The elongated part of the boss forms a straight side as indicated at 11 (FIG. 2).

A suction cup 12 is provided for fastening the holder to a support as indicated at 13 and has an outer surface curved as indicated at 14 terminating in a circular "ice boss portion 15 having a socket 16 provided with a threaded sleeve 17. The boss 5 of the head 2 of the holder is provided with a socket portion 18 offset and tapered inwardly as indicated at 19 and having an opening 20 leading to the socket 6 in the cup portion thereof for receiving the threaded shank 21 of a screw 22 for engaging in the threaded sleeve 17 of the suction cup as later shown.

The bifurcated end 10 of the arm 8 provides spaced arms 23 and 24. The arm 8 is channel-shaped having depending sides 25 and 26' forming a channel 27 therebetween and the arms 23 and 24 have their lower edges turned inwardly towards each other as indicated at 28 providing a space or throat 29 between the arms of lesser width than the sides 25 and 26 of the channel arm 8 as best illustrated in FIG. 4 for the purpose of receiving a head 39 of the soap attaching member 31 which includes a shank portion 32 having a flange portion 33 and an elongated socket 34 for receiving the shank 35 of a screw or spiral member 36 which engages in the bar of soap 37, the shank 35 being pressed or otherwisesuitably secured in the bore or socket 34 of the attaching member.

In order to securely attach the holder to a support such as a wall, splash back wall of a lavatory or kitchen sink or even a tiled wall in a bathroom, the suction cup is first disassembled from the head and pressed securely and positively against such support. It will be noted that the outer edge 38 of the suction cup has a slight bead 39. The cup-shaped portion of the head is then placed over the rounded surface 14 of the suction cup, the screw 22 inserted through the head and secured to the threaded sleeve of the suction cup so that the boss 15 of the cup will engage in the socket 6 of the head and secure the head to the suction cup. During this operation, the portion 4-0 of the suction cup will be drawn slightly upwardly to create a vacuum in the cup to securely hold the cup against the support. By this method of attachment to the head there is no danger of movement of the lip 38 away from the support to lose the suction of the cup as the arm 8 may be moved in any direction on the cup so that the head will be in any position on the cup before the screw is tightened.

The screw 36 of the soap bar attaching member is inserted in the bar of soap 37 by manual operation until the flange portion engages the side edge 41 of the bar of soap and when the attaching member is securely fastened to the bar the shank portion 32 is passed between the spaced arms 23 and 24. The inner sides 25 and 26 are slightly curved inwardly as indicated at 42 and 43, FIG. 4, to form a socket 44 for the head 36} to retain the head in the bifurcated end of the arm.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that we have provided an improved soap holder wherein the head of the soap holder may be attached to the suction cup after it is secured to a support without loss of the suction created by pressing the suction cup to the support and novel means for attachment of the bar of soap to a member removably attached to the arm of the holder.

It will further be obvious that the soap holder may be secured by the suction cup to either a vertical surface or a horizontal surface and the soap attaching member will always hang in a vertical position due to the ball-andsocket connection with the bifurcated end of the arm of the holder. In other words, the soap attaching member is swingably attached in the socket of the bifurcated end of the arm so that it may hang in substantial longitudinal alignment with the arm or in longitudinal alignment with the transverse end of the arm as shown in FIG. 5.

It is to be understood that while we have illustrated and described one form of our invention, it is not being limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for attaching a bar of soap to a support comprising, a suction cup having a convex portion having an upwardly extending boss portion provided with a socket for receiving a threaded sleeve, a head having a cup portion provided with an annular flange for engaging the convex portion of said suction cup, said head having a socket portion for receiving said boss on the suction cup and said boss portion being provided with an opening aligning with the threaded sleeve in said boss of the suction cup, a screw having a threaded shank extending through said opening in the head and engaging said threaded sleeve for securing said head to said suction cup whereby a vacuum will be created in said suction cup by tightening said head to said cup, an arm integral with end extending outwardly from said boss of said head, and screw means engaging the free end of said arm and said bar of soap for suspending the same therefrom, said free end of the arm being bifurcated and having a socket portion and said screw having a head engaging in said lastnamed socket portion.

2. A device for attaching a bar of soap to a support comprising, a suction cup having a concave portion for pressing against said support and a convex portion having a boss portion provided with a threaded sleeve, a head having a socket portion for engaging the boss portion of the convex portion, said head being provided with an opening aligning with the threaded sleeve in said boss of the suction cup, a screw having a threaded shank extending through said opening in the head and engaging said threaded sleeve for securing said head to said suction cup whereby a vacuum will be created in said suction cup by tightening said head to said cup, an arm integral with and extending outwardly from said boss of said head, and means engaging the free end of said arm and said bar of soap for suspending the same therefrom.

3. A device for attaching a bar of soap to a support comprising, a suction cup having a concave portion for pressing against said support and a convex portion having an upwardly extending boss portion provided with a socket for receiving a threaded sleeve, a head having a circular cup-shaped portion for engaging the convex portion of said suction cup, said head having an upwardly extending boss portion provided with an opening aligning with the threaded sleeve in said boss of the suction cup, a screw having a threaded shank extending through said opening in the head and engaging said threaded sleeve for securing said head to said suction cup, said cup portion of the head having a flange portion provided with a rim engaging the outer portion of the convex portion of the suction cup whereby a vacuum will be created in said suction cup by tightening said head to said cup, an arm formed integral with and extending outwardly from said boss of said head, and means engaging the free end of said arm and said bar of soap for suspending the same therefrom.

4. A device for attaching a bar of soap to a support comprising, a suction cup having a concave Portion having an annular flange portion for pressing against said support and a convex portion having an upwardly extending boss portion provided with a socket for receiving a threaded sleeve, a head for engaging the convex portion of said suction cup, said head having a boss portion provided with an opening aligning with the threaded sleeve in said boss of the suction cup and said head having an annular flange portion extending downwardly below said head and engaging the convex portion of the annular flange portion of said suction cup, a screw having a threaded shank extending through said opening in the head and engaging said threaded sleeve for securing said head to said suction cup whereby a vacuum will be created in said suction cup by tightening said head to said cup, an arm extending outwardly from said boss of said head and having a free end, said free end of the arm being bifurcated, and removable means engaging the bifurcated free end of said arm and said bar of soap for suspending the same therefrom, a portion of said annular flange of said head having connection with the said arm to form a rigid structure and exert pressure on said cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Anderson Jan. 12, 1942 

